[From the Fall 2023 Showcase of Homes Magazine]
Written and Photographed By George Hanstein
Alexandra Higgins is an artist that works in several different mediums. I recently met her at her beautiful home gallery in Mayfield to learn about her work and process.
Alexandra’s gallery is called “Window to the Garden.” She has created, at her home, beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces to display art. Much of the work is Alexandra’s, however, there is also work by five other local artists on display. It is difficult if not impossible to categorize Alexandra’s art since she has such an eclectic body of work. She paints, sculpts, writes music, and sings.
Alexandra told me that her mother had a big influence on her. Her mother, who was a published writer, worked tirelessly at her craft. Alexandra told me that her mother was always busy doing something. She raised Alexandra and her four siblings and still managed to write and get published. Alexandra describes herself as a worker bee and thinks that she got that from her mom. If she isn’t creating art or working in her garden, she is writing and recording music. You can find much of her music on Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, and other distribution sites. She has been a member of five different cover bands, but now mostly concentrates on writing and recording her own songs.
Alexandra studied interior design at Sage and art history and interior design at SUNY Plattsburgh. She also achieved a master’s degree in painting. Her background in design is apparent in the beautiful spaces that she has created. As you wander through her garden, you will see her cement mosaic sculptures mixed in with beautiful flowers and plants. Her indoor spaces highlight her paintings. Her paintings are very intense and colorful. She uses a type of oil paint stick that allows her to create the colors that you see in her paintings. My personal favorites are women’s faces surrounded by brightly colored flowers. The faces are very expressive and most of the subjects are looking directly at you. They almost make you think you know what the subject is thinking or feeling. That series is called “looking back” since the subject is looking back, directly at you. Alexandra explained that traditionally women have been subject matter to be viewed. In this series, they are the ones doing the looking. She states the inspiration for this series was the, “Me Too Movement” and women speaking up.
Alexandra told me her work is moving towards landscapes and more abstract paintings. The landscapes also are very beautiful and are painted with very intense colors. They depict The Adirondack Mountains and forest scenes along with some more abstract pieces. Some of the paintings are huge and quite impressive. Her method of doing paintings is also interesting. She always has more than one painting going at once. She says that she does that because she needs to sit with a piece for a while. She will sometimes have four or more paintings going at one time. She says that working like that gives her the opportunity to go back to a painting and see it with new eyes. She told me that the paintings tell her when they are finished.
Whatever her method is, it clearly works. When I asked her about the paintings, she said she wants the viewer to fall into the painting. I took that to mean that she wants the viewer emotionally involved in the work. When you see her work in person, you can feel that. The paintings are quite powerful.
When you speak to Alexandra about her art you immediately know that she truly loves what she does. She had other successful careers before doing art full-time. She sold real estate, flipped houses and at one time even drove buses.
What she truly loves to do is create beautiful things and beautiful spaces. When I asked Alexandra why she does what she does, she said “Because I can’t imagine doing anything else.” She has been creating art for 30 years. Alexandra paints because she loves it; if the viewer likes it, so much the better.
“Window to The Garden” gallery is open by appointment, contact her at
Abstract orange flowers
